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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Rav Lefkowitz ZT"L Received and Blessed the New Rav Kaduri Books A Few Days Before His Petira

Kikar reports that just a few days before his Petira, Rav Lefkowitz ZT"L received a copy of the new bookof Rav Kaduri ZT"L's secrets written by R' Yaakov Ades Shlit"a (which I mentioned here). Rav Lefkowitz heard about the process in which the books were published, browsed through the books, and blessed those who published them.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The Case for a 5772-Based Geula - Part 7

It is brought down in the commentarty of the Gr"a to the Sifra Ditzni'uta (Chapter 5):

And all the details that occur in these 6 days occur in the 6000 [years] - everything in its day and its hour. And from here, you can know the Keitz of the Redemption that it Be'itah, G-d forbid, when we will not be meritorious, which is the final Keitz. And I force an oath upon the reader of this on Hashem, the G-d of Israel, not to reveal this.

The Gr"a forced an oath upon the reader not to reveal in order that they will not come to give up hope from the long time-period which still remains, but when we are standing so close [to the Keitz], this revelation can only bring joy and encouragement like we will bring from the words of the Ramban later. And it is obvious that the Gr"a did not forbid [this revelation], especially since we came, with Hashem's help, to the understanding of the Keitz from the words of the Zohar itself, and we publicized the Keitz of the Zohar in the newsletter "Sod Hahashmal", Lag Ba'omer Eve, 5770, we just added the words of the Gr"a as an addendum this year.

And it is also brought down in the "Kol HaTorah" anthology (Nissan 5758 p. 32) in the name of Harav Hagaon R' Yehezkel Abramsky ZT"L, who heard himself from Hagaon Rav Hayim Brisker, who told over about a Torah scholar who said to the Gaon Rav Hayim Volozhin, who understood from the Gr"a the time of the Keitz and was very happy. And the Gaon Rav Hayim Volozhin said that from his happiness, it is apparent that he didn't understand it correctly (i.e. that the true Keitz was in the distant future from then [the early 1800s] and his knowledge of this fact would not arouse joy). And they asked the Gaon Rav Hayim Brisker, "Who says that the Gr"a didn't err in this matter? Even Ribbi Akiva erred regarding Ben Koziva!" The Gaon Rav Hayim Brisker answered that Ribbi Akiva erred in Ben Koziva because he thought that he was the Mashiah, but the Keitz of the Gr"a of Be'itah is definitely correct, and it's not possible that the Gr"a erred. And this is the wording of the "Sefer HaDeiah" by the author of the Leshem (at the end of the book):

The Keitz of the Gr"a is known to all who taste the Tree of Life, and it's possible to know the year exactly.

And similarly it is brought down in the book "Ma'asei Ish" (vol. 3, p. 187) that Rav Shemaryahu Greineman asked the Hazon Ish about the Keitz of the Gr"a, and the Hazon Ish answered that with the words, "משביע אני" [I force an oath] that the Gr"a wrote, his Keitz is hinted to. And since the Gr"a lived in the 5400's, it appears that the hint is in the letters שע"ב that are the letters of the root word of the שבועה [oath]. And this is the wording of Rabbeinu Bahye (Devarim 32:40):

The promise of the this future Redemption is with a שבועה [oath], for anyone who takes an oath lifts up his hand and touches an object that he is swearing upon, and this is along the lines of what is written in Daniel regarding the promise of this redemption "וַיָּרֶם יְמִינוֹ וּשְׂמֹאלוֹ אֶל הַשָּׁמַיִם וַיִּשָׁבַע בְּחֵי הָעוֹלָם וגו" [when he lifted up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and swore by Him that liveth for ever...] and also [King] David, may peace be upon him, said "קוּמָה ה' אֵל נְשָׂא יָדֶךָ" [Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up Thy hand]

And Harav Hagaon R' Shimon Raz adds that we found the expression of שבועה [oath] regarding the Redemption in the Aleinu Leshabei'ah prayer: "יַכִּירוּ וְיֵדְעוּ כָּל יוֹשְׁבֵי תֵבֵל. כִּי לְךָ תִּכְרַע כָּל בֶּרֶךְ. תִּשָּׁבַע כָּל לָשׁוֹן" [all the inhabitants of the earth will recognize and know that to You all knees kneel and every tongue swears] תשבע has the letters of תשע"ב [the year 5772]. And a similar thing is hinted to also in the Nishmat prayer: "כִּי כָל פֶּה לְךָ יוֹדֶה, וְכָל לָשׁוֹן לְךָ תִשָּׁבַע" [for every mouth admits to You and every tongue swears to You].

And also, the Keitz of Daniel (Daniel 7:25) "עִדָּן וְעִדָּנִין וּפְלַג עִדָּן" [a time and times and half a time] hints to this time period. "עדן" [a time] corresponds to the fifth millennium. "ועדנין" [and times] corresponds to the 2 time periods in the sixth millennium - the night [5001-5500] and until Hatzot [5501-5750]. "ופלג עדן" corresponds to the half-hour after Hatzot [5751-5771]. And similarly, we see from the verses at the end of Daniel that 45 years before the Keitz, things will occur in regard to the place of the Beit Hamikdash. As is brought there (12:11-13):

And from the time that the continual burnt-offering shall be taken away, and the detestable thing that causes appalment set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
Happy is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
But go thou thy way till the end be; and thou shalt rest, and shalt stand up to thy lot, at the end of the days.

And if the Keitz is the year 5772, it comes out that 45 years beforehand is the year 5727, the year of the Six Day War, whereupon the Jewish people merited great miracles and returned to pray at the Western Wall. And if we calculate 1290 years backwards like the words of the prophet, we reach to the period where they set up the שִׁקּוּץ שֹׁמֵם [detestable thing that causes appalment] over the place of the Mikdash. (It is clear that the "detestable thing that causes appalment" refers to the detestable thing of the Ishmaelites, as is brought in the book "Livnat HaSapir" vol. 2 on the Zohar Va'eira p. 32 - that Yishmael rules the place of the Mikdash for 1290 years, that this is close to 1300 years, as reward for the circumcision that Yishmael did when he was 13 years old. And this is also brought in Rashi (on Daniel 12:8) that this prophecy is an explanation for the prophecy of "a time and times and half a time". The Ibn Ezra (Daniel 7:18) explains the prophecy of "a time and times and half a time" referring to the Kingdom of Yishmael. And it is also brought down in the Pirkei deRibbi Eliezer (Chapter 30) that the children of Yishmael will in the future build a structure in the place of the Mikdash in the End of Days. It was written to me that the "detestable thing that causes appalment" was erected in the place of the Mikdash a little before the year 679 C.E., but it's not known exactly when. The year 677 C.E. would fit according to the Keitz of 5772. Rav Shwartz Shlit"a from Netanya wrote me that there was a "detestable thing" that was established in the year 4397 as is brought down in "Seder Hadorot", but there was a period of 82 years that the Christians captured the area, and nullified the "detestable thing" of the Ishmaelites, as is brought down in "Yeshu'ot Meshiho" by the Abravanel, vol. 1, and according to this, again, the calculation of 1335 concludes in 5772.) [YY - I don't understand this last idea. Even if he means 1290 instead of 1335, it's still 3 years off as 4397+1290+82=5769] [YY - See also Gilui's Hiddush on this whole idea] And I also heard that the verse in Daniel 9:27 is written in the plural of שִׁקּוּצִים מְשֹׁמֵם [detestable things shall be that which causeth appalment] to hint the 2 detestable things that exist on the place of the Mikdash. And also שיקוצים [detestable things] in gematria is אל אקצא ועומאר [Al-Aqsa and Omar].

(See the book "Yosher Levav" from the author of the "Mishnat Hasidim" and in the introduction to the book "Darchei No'am", who publicized the Keitz of the year 5541 because they divided the sixth millennium into 12 hours instead of 24 hours. According to this, it comes out that the time of Minha Gedola - where the shadow bends toward the West - is in 5541. And see the responsa of the Hatam Sofer (vol 6, p. 61a) and in the Or Hahayim (Vayikra 6:2) that you need to divide the millennium into 24 parts. And this is similarly brought down in the "Sefer Hama'amarim" by the Rebbe Rasha"b of Lubavitch (5663) that we divide the millennium into 24 parts, therefore, in the year 5333, when the 3rd third of the night began, the Ariza"l was revealed, and in the year 5500, when the morning light was shining, the light of the Torah of the Baal Shem Tov started budding.) And it also appears that the Zohar (Va'et'hanan 74a) that we brought down earlier about the 6.5 hours add the words there "שית קמצין ופלגא ובגודל דמשחא דבר נש גבר בין גוברנין". This is to hint that even according to those who hold that the day of HKB"H is 1000 that divides into 12, here, the calculation goes according to our hours of גבר בין גוברנין [a man among men] who divide the day into 24 parts - not 12. [YY - The idea of Minha Gedola starting in 5541 according to a 12-hour calendar can also be found in the update to this post, where I quote the Mikdash Melech on the Zohar. The Hatam Sofer that was quoted can also be found in this post.]

See the text of the Gr"a on the Mechilta (Shemot 14:20) and in the Midrash Talpiyot on the entry "Gog", that the Gog Umagog War will begin 3 hours before sunrise on Hoshana Rabba, and will last only 3 hours. And for this reason, we pray the prayer "Hoshana Shalosh Sha'ot". And if we connect these words with the words of the Zohar that we brought, it comes out that the day of Hoshana Rabba, 5773 can be expected to be the day of the Gog Umagog War.

And we also find in the Midrash (Yalkut Yeshaya 499) [YY - often quoted]:

[Ribbi Yitzhak said: The year that the King Mashiah will be revealed - all the kings of the nations will provoke each other. The king of Persia will provoke an Arab king and the Arab king will go Aram [aka Edom] to take advice from them, and the King of Persia will return and destroy the whole world. And all the nations of the world will make noise and will be confused and fall on their faces and pains like birthpangs will grab hold of them. And Israel will make noise and be confused and say, "To where can we come and go? To where can we come and go?" and [Hashem] tells them, "My children! Do not fear! Everything I did was all for you! Why are you afraid? Do not fear! The time of your redemption has arrived!"]

And they also showed me the book "The Mayan Culture and Judaism" by Professor Haralick and Rav Glazerson that brings the cultures of the non-Jews from more than 2000 years ago, who related to the year 2012 C.E. as the end of the world, and that's how they ended their calendar. And they similarly bring down there that according to [Mayan] astronomy, there stands to be a great change in the year 2012 [according to the Mayans] - where for the first time, the earth will accept energy directly from the [Mayan deity] which gives energy to the sun and stars [according to their incorrect view], and not like it has always been, where the earth gets energy only from the sun and stars [according to their incorrect view]. And it brings there additional great scientific discoveries that are designated for this year. And it appears that all this is hinted to in the verse (Yeshaya 24:23) וְחָפְרָה הַלְּבָנָה, וּבוֹשָׁה הַחַמָּה: כִּי-מָלַךְ יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, בְּהַר צִיּוֹן וּבִירוּשָׁלִַם, וְנֶגֶד זְקֵנָיו, כָּבוֹד [Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed; for the LORD of hosts will reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His elders shall be Glory] and according to what the Malbim explains there:

"Shall be confounded" - then, people will not give any godly stature or glory to the sun and the moon since they will recognize that Hashem is the Primal Cause and He is the First and Last Influence, He is the One Who shows Providence in the Heavens above and on the earth below. This is because "for the LORD of hosts will reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His elders shall be Glory." because idol-worshippers were assuming godly power, inspiration, and influence to the sun because it provides light to the moon and stars. And they also honored the moon as they thought that it accepts influence from the sun, which thereby influences the lower world and rules over the lower world. However, our verse is saying "Then the moon shall be confounded..." because they will know that the upper honor from the Creator of everything will not be influencing the moon.

And the words וְחָפְרָה הַלְּבָנָה וּבוֹשָׁה הַחַמָּה in gematria is 772 with the words.

We find in the gemara (Bava Batra 74b) that Rabba Bar Bar Hana tells over a story that once, he was traveling on a boat and there was a big fish which looked like dry land and they departed onto it. And when the started the fire to cook the fire, it arose, and they all fell into the sea. And Hashem made a miracle for them that He brought a ship close to them and they survived. And in the book "Emet LeYa'akov" from the author of the Netivot, he explains there that the Jews will be in a good situation before the Redemption, and they will eat and drink just like Rabba [Bar Bar Hana], who went on the fish thinking that it was definitely dry land, and immediately, it will be revealed to them that everything that they thought was mistaken, and the whole world is standing against them. That's when Hashem will send the boat of the Redemption to save them.

and Rashi explains, "When Eretz Yisrael gives its fruit generously, then the Keitz will be close, and you don't have a more revealed Keitz than this." And the Maharsha there adds, "Because whenever the Jews are not on their land, the land does not give its fruits normally, but when it returns to give its fruits, that is a revealed Keitz - that the time of Redemption is close, when the Jews will return to their land.

End of the second essay. I have no plans of translating the disclaimer or the third essay (which has to do with the purpose of the Gog Umagog War) at this time, but maybe at a future date, as the disclaimer especially is important. As I mentioned earlier, there is an updated version of the pdf, from which I will try to pick out the additions in a separate post.

The Case for a 5772-Based Geula - Part 6

I happened to receive a more updated version of the pdf with additions. BL"N, I'll post the additions in a separate post when I'm done with the original.

And it is also brought down in the name of the Rosh Yeshiva of Mir - the Gaon Rav Eliezer Yehuda Finkel ZT"L, brought down in the introduction of the book "Tomer Devorah" that was printed in Shanghai in 5705 - that in the year 5700, when the Holocaust broke out, the period of a Be'itah Redemption began. Something similar to this is brought down in the name of the Kloisenberger Rebbe ZT"L (in the newsletter "Betzila DeMeHamnuta" Tzanz - Emor, 5770) that with the Holocaust started the time of Be'itah. And it is also brought down there in the name of the "Toledot Yaakov Yosef", Parshat Ki Tisa, that the year 5701 is a year of a Keitz. And it is also brought down there in the name of the Toldos Aharon Rebbe ZT"L that after the Holocaust, it doesn't count as a "time" per se - it is just a delay to rectify a few matters, just like the 7 days of [delay for the Shiva of] Metushelah before the Flood.

And it is similarly brought down in the book "Leket Reshimot" from the Mashgiah of Lakewood [Yeshiva] - Rav Nosson Wachtfogel ZT"L (in the section dealing with the Beit Hamikdash) in the name of Rav Aharon Kotler ZT"L that in the time of World War I, there were a few people who asked the Hafetz Hayim if this is Gog Umagog, and he answered all of them that after this war, there will be a break, and afterwards, there will be another war, and there again will be a break, and afterwards, there will be another war, and with that war will come Mashiah. (These words are also brought in the book "Lev Eliyahu" - the end of volume 1, from the Gaon Rav Eliyahu Lopian ZT"L in the name of the Gaon Rav Elhanan Wasserman HY"D who heard it from the Hafetz Hayim, and it is written there that the Hafetz Hayim said that Gog Umagog War itself will be divided into 3 wars. And this is according to the known fact that the Germans YM"S wanted to go up to Yerushalayim. And similarly Harav Hagaon R' Menahem Rotenberg showed me that the Targum Yerushalmi and the Targum Yonatan (on Bereishit 10:2) translate "Magog" as "Germania". And similarly, it's brought down in the Tiferet Yisrael (Nega'im 2:1):

"Germanyan is Ashkenaz because of the 3 children of No'ah, the children of Yefet settled in the North of the world, which is Europe, and Ashkenaz (Germany) is the Northernmost part of it.

And even though it is mentioned in the gemara (Megilla 6b) that Germania is Edom from the descendants of Amalek, it's possible that the land was Magog from the children of Yefet and Amalekites settled there - since Edom represents the left and he is drawn to the leftmost place in the world, as is brought down in the Tiferet Yisrael ibid.

Yehezkel prophesied that at the End of Days, all the nations will fight around Yerushalayim, and the combatants on one side will be Egypt, Assyria, and Eilam [aka Persia] who are the Yishmaelites, and the combatants on the other side will be Meshech, Tuval, the princes of Edom, and the kings of the North. And they will all kill each other and will fall among the fallen. And Haza"l had a tradition that Gog will come against Yerushalayim three times.

And look at the Malbim (on Daniel 7) who explains the Keitz of Daniel to be referring to the year 5673, which was the eve of World War I.)

And similarly, it is brought in the book "Leket Reshimot" ibid that he has a tradition - man from man - from R' Yehoshua Leib Diskin ZT"L that in the last war before the coming of Mashiah, all the Jews who tremble to Hashem's word, who are separated from the other nations - will be saved.

And this is the wording of the Leshem (Introductions and Prefaces p. 106):

The measurement of the Atara on the Yesod is known to all who taste the taste of the Tree of Life, and it is also long time period, and that entire time is all the Keitz of Be'itah. This is the simple meaning of the verse, "I the LORD will hasten it in its time." The verse is promising that it will not last the entire time of Be'itah, but rather that Hashem will expedite the time of Redemption, so both ideas will be fulfilled - in its time, I will hasten it. And this is also what is said, "because it will surely come, it will not delay" - that it will not delay until the end of the entire period of Be'itah, G-d forbid, but rather, there will be an "I will hasten it" also. However, all this is only when the Atara will reach its lowering.

It appears that the Leshem is hinting to the "lowering" of the day, when the shadow bends toward the West - after 6.5 hours, as we brought earlier from the Zohar on the end of Tamuz, 5771. And it's also brought down in the Leshem (Introductions and Prefaces pp. 88-89) that the time period until the Atara reaches its lowering is the time period of Mashiah Ben Yosef, and when the Atara reaches its lowering, the time period of Mashiah Ben David begins.

Here, the Zohar is speaking of the 2 periods of 6.5 years each, that according to the "Yam HaHochma", the purpose of these periods is to connect Mashiah Ben Yosef and Mashiah Ben David, with the proliferation of the learning of the inner secrets of the Torah, and the abundance of Torah-learners everywhere in the Sod of "Tzemah David". Similarly, the Zohar notes that close to the end of the 72 years, the nations of the world will be energized against Yerushalayim, and it will be "and it is a time of trouble unto Jacob, but out of it shall he be saved," that which unfortunately, we already see in our days that the United States is going against Yerushalayim. And also the President of the United States Obama [אובאמה] is hinted to in the verse (Yehezkel 38:2): "בֶּן-אָדָם, שִׂים פָּנֶיךָ אֶל-גּוֹג אֶרֶץ הַמָּגוֹג--נְשִׂיא, רֹאשׁ מֶשֶׁךְ וְתֻבָל; וְהִנָּבֵא, עָלָיו. וְאָמַרְתָּ, כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה" ['Son of man, set thy face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD...] with a 7-letter skip. [YY - See Yehudi Yerushalmi and Shirat Devorah as examples where this was mentioned previously.] And also Magog, the land of Gog, in gematria is 52, which equals the number of states in the United States [YY - I'll assume the author is including Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, but this is a bit far-fetched. צ"ע.] And also, his [Obama's] name is hinted to in the Rashei Teivot in the verse that hints to the root of the Kelipa of the entire world, as is known: (Bereishit 36:31) וְאֵלֶּה, הַמְּלָכִים, אֲשֶׁר מָלְכוּ, בְּאֶרֶץ אֱדוֹם--לִפְנֵי מְלָךְ-מֶלֶךְ, לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל ["And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel."]

Here, the Zohar speaks about the 27 years until the end of the century, that in the 73rd year, the war against Yerushalayim will begin, and HKB"H will rain down great hailstones upon the nations of the world, and the period of Mashiah Ben David will begin - that he will be energized to fight the wars of Hashem, and these wars will last 27 years until the end of the century, and then will be the complete unification [of Hashem's Name] and the complete ingathering of the exiles. (And similarly, גוג ומגוג [Gog Umagog] in gematria, adding the 2 words and the Kollel is 73. And also, the number 3, represented by the letter ג, stands out in the words גוג ומגוג [Gog Umagog]. And also, the verse וְהָיְתָה גְּאֻלָּתוֹ, עַד-תֹּם שְׁנַת ["then he may redeem it within a whole year after..." is Rashei Teivot תשע"ג [i.e. 5773]. And also, the verse that the "Targum Yonatan" explains is referring to Gog Umagog (Devarim 32:39) רְאוּ עַתָּה, כִּי אֲנִי אֲנִי הוּא, וְאֵין אֱלֹהִים, עִמָּדִי ["See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with Me..."] has the gematria of 773. And also the verse (Tehillim 148:13) כִּי-נִשְׂגָּב שְׁמוֹ לְבַדּוֹ [for His name alone is exalted] is the same gematria. And also, the text of the prayer הוא יגאל אותנו בקרוב is the same gematria.

And also, in the year 5772, we will have completed 3323 years from the Redemption from Egypt and the giving of the Torah, and this number is the gematria of the verse that is said in the prophecy of Yehezkel about Gog Umagog (Yehezkel 38:23) וְהִתְגַּדִּלְתִּי, וְהִתְקַדִּשְׁתִּי, וְנוֹדַעְתִּי, לְעֵינֵי גּוֹיִם רַבִּים; וְיָדְעוּ, כִּי-אֲנִי יְהוָה [Thus will I magnify Myself, and sanctify Myself, and I will make Myself known in the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am the LORD.] [YY - note that I mentioned this a couple months ago here, so unless it was taken from my blog, Baruch Shekivanti.] And when you add one, which hints to another year, we get the gematria of the verse that talks about the first journey of the Redemption from Egypt: (Bemidbar 33:1) אֵלֶּה מַסְעֵי בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֲשֶׁר יָצְאוּ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם--לְצִבְאֹתָם: בְּיַד-מֹשֶׁה, וְאַהֲרֹן [These are the stages of the children of Israel, by which they went forth out of the land of Egypt by their hosts under the hand of Moses and Aaron.].

It is written (Vayikra 25:28) וְאִם לֹא-מָצְאָה יָדוֹ, דֵּי הָשִׁיב לוֹ--וְהָיָה מִמְכָּרוֹ בְּיַד הַקֹּנֶה אֹתוֹ, עַד שְׁנַת הַיּוֹבֵל; וְיָצָא, בַּיֹּבֵל, וְשָׁב, לַאֲחֻזָּתוֹ. [But if he have not sufficient means to get it back for himself, then that which he hath sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubilee; and in the jubilee it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.] And the Or Hahayim explains [YY - see also here]:

"But if he have not sufficient means to get it back for himself" means: if the Master will see that the nation does not have power to bear any more blows, and their debts are mounting over their heads, and they do not have the power to withstand this, "then that which he hath sold ... until the year of jubilee", which is the time limit for a Be'itah Redemption, and then, "and in the jubilee it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession" - because the Keitz of the Redemption will happen even if Israel is full of complete evil-doers, G-d forbid.

And I heard in the name of Harav Hagaon Rav Mordechai Elyashar Shlit"a that also this verse in gematria plus the words is 3323. And also, "וְשָׁב לַאֲחֻזָּתוֹ" [and he shall return unto his possession] in gematria is 771 with the words plus the letters.

And it is similarly brought down in the commentary of the Ramban on Shir Hashirim (8:2 [8:12?], brought down in the Writings of the Ramban, vol. 2, published by Mosad Harav Kook)

"O Solomon, shalt have the thousand" - he hints with this to the Days of the Mashiah, which will last 1000 years - that is the sixth millennium from the years of the world. "And two hundred" of these 1000 "to those that keep the fruit thereof" - to those that wait for the reward of Torah and Mitzvot - in other words, there will be Resurrection of the Dead in the sixth millennium before 200 years, and the Redemption and Salvation will be revealed.

We see that the Ramban learned from the verse "and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred" that at least 200 years from the sixth millennium will be a period of reward which will come after the conclusion of the Redemption processes. And if the period of a Be'itah Redemption is 100 years, as we brought from the Zohar, it therefore started in the year 5701.

The Case for a 5772-Based Geula - Part 4

The Zohar talks about the Keitz of Be'itah - that Mashiah is has to come because the time has arrived, and the Keitz is a process of 100 years as it explains. (Here is the wording of the Zohar Parshat Vayeira page 119a. The notes are according to the commentators on the Zohar and the introductions to the books "Yam HaHochma" from Harav Haga'on Rav Y. M. Morgenshtern Shlit"a, with a few additions.)

The Zohar speaks of the process of a Be'itah Redemption which lasts 100 years, as the first 60 years are called "Ibura Dedasha", which is a door which goes to and fro on its hinge in the Sod of Mashiah Ben Yosef, who opens the spiritual influence and then closes it. According to the introductions of the books "Yam HaHochma", the 100 years started in the year 5701, which was when the new 100 years from creation began, and the Holocaust broke out, whereupon occurred the ending of the "filtering of the sparks" from all the places where the Jewish Nation encamped in the many years of their exile, as we see that in most places, it was almost totally free of Jews. And also Oriental Jewry left from the lands in which they encamped in the many years of their exile. All this is applicable to the period of Mashiah Ben Yosef, whose mission is to conclude the "filterings" in all places. At the same time, the beginning of the century started a great wave in the building of the Land of Israel - both by Jews and Arabs, who think they build for themselves, while it is clear to all that all this is designated for the Jewish people who will return to their land soon. (See Pirkei DeRibbi Eliezer chapter 30, that in the future, the children of Yishmael will build the destroyed cities in the Land of Israel in the End of Days.) All this is applicable to the period of Mashiah Ben Yosef, whose mission is to prepare the physical vessels to accept the lights of Redemption. And the preparation for Redemption is not the "At'halta Dig'ula" [beginning of Redemption] as others erred in saying, just as polishing one's shoes for Shabbat is not the beginning of Shabbat, and here is not the place to be lengthy. (There is no intent here to get into the matter of the identity of Mashiah Ben Yosef, who is one of the righteous ones of the Generation or a few of them who worry to enact - both spiritually and physically - all the matters that we mentioned and many more that we didn't mention.)

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

About Those Segula Rings

Manya bloggerandhisbrother, most, if not all of whom have a more rationalistic bent, are intrigued/up in arms by the Segula rings that appeared in a Mishpacha Magazine ad. The ad advises using this segula, and it has haskamot from various Rabbanim in a Kabbalistic Yeshiva and most notably, Rav Moshe Shternbach, Shlit"a.

Some unfortunately are conflating the three issues involved: 1) whether the ad is advisable or not, 2) whether segulot that involve holy names should be used or not and 3) whether segulot are effective or not in general. I'm not going to give my own opinion in any of these issues, but I will try to bring some of the sources I found (not necessarily extensive) regarding this particular segula.

The Kav Hayashar says that this segula comes from R' Yoel Ba'al Shem of Zamost, and he says that it is effective for preventing Keri. The Hida says that this is good for traveling (and since he quotes the Kav Hayashar, he apparently means that it's good for traveling to prevent Keri). The Yesh Manhilin (סי' כ-כא) says that he actually wore one when he was younger on a finger on his right hand. (He also brings down a similar segula to wear a ring with different holy names, which should help prevent epilepsy in babies. The periodical Tzefunot has a page about a similar segula ring from the Ba'al Shem of Michelstadt.)

The Taharat Yom Tov, however, says about this segula "We have not merited to use holy names." Also, the Lubavitcher Rebbe says that there are numerous problems with this: 1) it may be an issue of Lo Yilbash (men wearing items designated for women), 2) it would be a problem where one may walk wearing such a ring with holy names, 3) the holy names themselves may be inaccurate since there may be errors in the books. See also Prof. Gedalia Nigal's article (which I see referenced, but could not find the text of online) "קבלה מעשית בפרנקפורט במאה השמונה-עשרה‬" in the periodical Sinai vol. 118 p. 91, available in Otzar HaHochma for those who have it (p. 295).

(Kohelet 1:5) The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down. Ribbi Abba Bar Kahana said: Do we not know that the sun rises and sets? Rather, it means the before Hashem sets the sun of one Tzaddik, He causes the sun of another Tzaddik to rise.

The day that Ribbi Akiva died, Rabbeinu [Ribbi Yehuda Hanasi] was born, and they proclaimed about him "The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down".

The day that Rabbeinu [Ribbi Yehuda Hanasi] died, Rav Adda Bar Ahava was born, and they proclaimed about him "The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down".

The day that Rav Adda Bar Ahava died, Ribbi Abun was born, and they proclaimed about him "The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down".

The day that Ribbi Abun died, Ribbi Abun his son was born.

The day that Ribbi Abun died, Abba Hoshaya Ish Tarya was born.

The day that Abba Hoshaya died, Ribbi Hoshaya was born, and they proclaimed about him "The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down".

Before He set the sun of Moshe, He caused the sun of Yehoshua to rise, as it says (Bemidbar 27:18): And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Take thee Joshua the son of Nun...'.

Before the sun of Yehoshua set, the sun of Otniel rose, as it says (Shofetim 1:13): And Othniel the son of Kenaz...took it.

Before the sun of Eili set, the sun of Shemuel rose, as it says (Shemuel Alef 3:3): and the lamp of God was not yet gone out, and Samuel was laid down to sleep in the temple of the LORD. Ribbi Yohanan said: like a pure calf.

Before HKB"H set the sun of Sara, He caused the sun of Rivka to rise, as first it says (Bereishit 22:20): Behold, Milcah, she also hath borne children... And later, it says (Bereishit 23:1) And the life of Sarah was a hundred...

I recently posted on the significance of the events of 70 years ago. In Iraq, the Farhud - considered the beginning of the downfall of Iraqi Jewry - occurred on Shavuot of 5701 (June 1-2,1941). Simultaneously, Poland and all of Europe were being decimated.

The On The Main Line blog recently posted an image from "Hapardes" from June, 1941. (You can also see this page on HebrewBooks.org here.) It explained the goings on of the American Orthodox Jewish experience at the time. It is quite a remarkable page as it tells of many of the great Rashei Yeshivot of the time when they were just starting their Yeshivot. Featured on this page are Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik Zt"l giving his first Shiur in RIETS, Rav Aharon Kotler Zt"l coming to America trying to save his Yeshiva in Europe, and Rav Ruderman Zt"l laying the foundation stone on a new building of his Yeshiva - Ner Yisrael in Baltimore. It is literally a page of American Torah history.

In the exact same issue of Hapardes, on pages 14-17, it tells of Chief Ashkenazic Rabbi of Mandatory Palestine Rav Herzog's trip to Chicago around the same time to collect funds for Torah institutions in Israel. (As an aside, for me, a Chicagoan, this happened to be a fascinating read.) Even before that took place, though, the Ponovezher Rav came to Eretz Yisrael in 1940, while the Mir Yeshiva relocated to Kobe, Japan in 1941 so the seeds for the explosion of Torah in Israel were being planted from all directions.

So, just before the setting of the sun of Iraqi Jewry - the world-wide center of Torah for thousands of years - and of Eastern European Jewry - also arguably the world-wide center of Torah for hundreds of years, Hashem planted the seeds for the salvation of Torah in the United States and in Israel. These are the two centers of Torah today. It was at the very least an עד דלא שקעה... (before his sun set...) case, if not a יום שמת... (on the day x died, y was born) case.

All this occurred 70 years ago. What's the significance of 70? It seems that an exile to a specific country where a world-wide center of Torah begins there lasts a multiple of 70 years. Furthermore, I am contending that a Galut only is considered having started when the Torah centers move to that country. This is as we learn in Pirkei Avot 4:14 הוי גולה למקום תורה - which bederech remez (I realize that this is a very loose translation) could mean "Count years of Galut only from the time that the place becomes a major Mekom Torah".

To illustrate, let's go through history. It says that Yehuda went ahead to Eretz Goshen in order "Lehorot" - and Rashi explains that to mean that he set up a Yeshiva. So, Mitzrayim became a place of Torah overnight. The Galut of Mitzrayim lasted 70 x 3 = 210 years.

The Galut of Bavel lasted 70 x 1 = 70 years. However, you can also calculate from Galut Yehoyachin which included החרש והמסגר (the Torah scholars) until the UN Partition Plan was annonunced in 1947 and mass emigration started from Iraq: 5707 - 3327 = 2380 years. 2380 / 70 = 34 70-year cycles.

The Galut of Sepharad started somewhere around the year 1000 CE (4760), when R' Moshe ben Hanoch, one of the four captives, made it to Spain, and Spain took over from Bavel as the leading center of Torah, as per the Ra'avad HaRishon. As the exact date when this occurred is not known, we'll say that this exile lasted about 490 years. 490 / 70 = 7.

The Galut of Poland started with the birth of the Rema in 1520 (5280) and in the middle of the 16th century, 3/4 of all Jews live in Poland, thereby making it a major Torah center, Safed notwithstanding. This lasted until the Holocaust around 1940 (5700). 5700 - 5280 = 420. 420 / 70 = 6.

It's now been 70 x 1 years since America became a world-wide center for Torah. I wonder what that means.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

The Case for a 5772-Based Geula - Part 3

And further, Rav Itamar Cohen Shlit"a adds that just as we find in the Gemara (Sanhedrin 38b) that at the 7th hour of the sixth day of Creation, Adam and Havah mated, similarly, the unification of the Redemption will occur at the 6½th hour of the sixth day, which is the midpoint of the seventh hour of the millennium. And it appears that we can add that the year 5772 - תשע"ב - hints to the seventh - שְּׁבִעִת - hour.

We see that HKB"H will destroy the Erev Rav between the sixth and seventh hour, and the midpoint between the 2 hours is at 6.5, like we mentioned earlier.

And it is similarly brought down in the "Davar Be'Ito" Calendar (1 Av 5771) that according to the Tur and the Rambam, at the time of Minha Gedola on Friday, we blow the first Teki'ah of the 3 Teki'ot of Friday, to warn people to halt their work in the fields. And it brings from the litugical poem called "אאפיד נזר" - that is said on the first day of Rosh Hashana - that also in the future, they will blow 3 Teki'ot. If this is true, then the end of Tammuz, 5771 is worthy of being the first Teki'ah. And similarly, the "Targum Yonatan" explains the verse וּתְרוּעַת מֶלֶךְ בּוֹ [and the shouting for the King is among them] as referring to the Shofar blowing of the Redemption, and תרועה מלך has the gematria of 771. And similarly, we say in the liturgical poem of Akdamot: "רְבוּתָא דְיַעֲבֵיד לִי כַּד מַטְיָא שַׁעְתָּא" [The great thing (?) that He will do for me when the hour arrives] have the letters תשע"א. Until here are the words of the "Davar Be'Ito" Calendar. And similarly, it is written (Yishaya 48:11) לְמַעֲנִי לְמַעֲנִי אֶעֱשֶׂה [For Mine own sake, for Mine own sake, will I do it] has the gematria of ה' תשע"א - 5771 - and this verse speaks of a Be'Itah Redemption, as is brought in the Ramha"l (Bemidbar):

If they merit, Ahishena - I will hasten it, but if they don't merit, Be'Itah - in its set time, as that is the time that HKB"H will want to reveal His Unity in sight of all living things לְמַעֲנִי לְמַעֲנִי אֶעֱשֶׂה [For Mine own sake, for Mine own sake, will I do it] (see Tikkunei Zohar Hadash 115).

And similarly, it appears that there is a hint about the end of the year 5772 in the gemara (Megila 17b) Upon the closing of the seventh year - שְׁבִעִת - [Mashiah] Ben David comes. And it's also brought down in the introduction to the book "Yam Hahochma" from the Gaon Rav Y.M. Morgenshtern Shlit"a (5771):

As the new year comes upon us - the year 5771, it's proper to start off with what is brought down in the Likutei Hagr"a, which is published at the end of Sefer Emuna VeHashgaha by Rav Shemuel Milatzan Z"L, and this is what he writes:

I heard from Harav Hagaon the Elder Moreinu Harav Yitzhak Margaliot, the Av Beit Din of Szczuczyn, Poland, who heard from the light of the diaspora Moreinu Harav Hayim Volozhin Z"L, that the Gr"a Z"L said that in the book Mishne Torah [Sefer Devarim], it is hinted in every Parsha everything that will occur in the 100 years of the sixth millennium - the 10 parshiyot correspond to the 10 centuries because Nitzavim and Vayeilech are counted as 1, as is known. [YY - see also this post.] And Moreinu Rav Hayim asked him, "Where are we hinted to in Parshat Ki Tetzei, which corresponds to the sixth century that we are currently in?" And [the Gr"a] answered him that his name is hinted to in the word "Even Shelomo" [YY - the phrase is really Even Sheleima, but has the same letters as Even Shelomo, meaning "son of Shelomo" as the Gr"a's father's name was Shlomo Zalman].

And his words are based on the words of the Gr"a in his commentary on Shir Hashirim that the Torah is made of 6 books since the story of Creation is considered a book on its own. And similarly, the Rav who authored the Avodat Hakodesh wrote, "The Written Torah contains 6 ends. And also the oral Torah has 6 Sedarim corresponding to the 6 ends..." because these 2 Torot are intertwined together and are influenced by each other... And these 6 books correspond to the 6000 years of the world, and the Mishne Torah [Sefer Devarim] corresponds to the sixth millennium and contains 10 Parshiyot - each Perasha corresponds to a century. And we already said that in Parshat Nitzavim/Vayeilech, everything that is done during this century is hinted to. And these [2] Parshiyot have 70 verses, and when we make a calculation and divide the aforementioned 70 verses into these 100 years, it comes out that every verse corresponds to 70% of a year, which is a bit more than two thirds of a year [YY - I think he meant to say that every year corresponds to 70% of a verse, which is a bit more than two thirds of a verse - not the other way around]. We see from here that the year 5771 is in the 50th verse: וַיְצַו מֹשֶׁה, אוֹתָם לֵאמֹר: מִקֵּץ שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים, בְּמֹעֵד שְׁנַת הַשְּׁמִטָּה--בְּחַג הַסֻּכּוֹת [And Moses commanded them, saying: 'At the end of every seven years, in the set time of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles], and see there that Moshe Rabbeinu commanded them about the Mitzva of Hak'hel in the year after Shemitta. And it's known what Haza"l say that in the year after the seventh, Mashiah Ben David comes. Since this is the year that is coming upon us for good, despite the fact that according to the Shemitta cycle, this is not the year after Shemitta, nevertheless, according to the spiritual lights that are drawn from above, this year is considered like the year after the seventh.

And also, the words in the verse "שבע שנים" [seven years] in gematria is 772.

And similarly, it is brought in the book "Mahamadei Eretz" from Harav Haga'on Rav Hayim Adani Shlit"a: The Malbim wrote on the verse (Micha 7:15) אַרְאֶנּוּ, נִפְלָאוֹת [will I show unto him marvellous things] - that is in the future. And in the Targum Yonatan Ben Uziel, he translates this as "אחזינון פרישן", which is the gematria of 772. And just as the Vilna Ga'on wrote in the Zohar Vayikra, in which he calculates the time of the Redemption according to what Ribbi Shimon Bar Yohai wrote that the time of the Redemption - one and a half - is the year 5772. And as a hint [to the year תשע"ב, the year is an acronym for] תהא שנת חסד [ - it should be a year of kindness - where the word for kindness - חסד] has the gematria of 72.

And similarly, the verse (Yeshaya 60:22) בְּעִתָּהּ אֲחִישֶׁנָּה [in its time, I will hasten it] has the gematria of עד ה' תשע"ב [until 5772]. And similarly, ע"ב [the number 72] is hinted in the verse (Yeshaya 60:22) בְּעִתָּהּ אֲחִישֶׁנָּה. And also, תשע"ב is hinted at in every place it is written וביום השביעי שבת [and on the seventh day, it is Sabbath] with a 2-letter backwards skip. And also the verse יום הששי: ויכלו השמים [the sixth day. And the heaven and the earth were finished...] - the word הששי hints to the sixth millennium and has the Mispar Katan of ה plus ז, which hints to the number 5700 inside the sixth millennium. And the word ויכלו in gematria is 72 to hint to the exact year of 5772. And also ה' תשע"ב is the gematria of ביאת המשיח [the coming of the Mashiah] [YY - I'm assuming this is with the Kollel or else he meant ה' תשע"א]. And also ה' תשע"א is the Rashei Teivot for every time it is written [in Shir HaShirim, e.g. here] תְּעוֹרְרוּ אֶת הָאַהֲבָה עַד שֶׁתֶּחְפָּץ [stir up love, until it please] that this year is a time to stir up love. And also 772 is hinted to in the beginning of the verse השבעתי אתכם בנות ירושלים. And it is also brought down in the name of Harav Haga'on Rav Matityahu Glazerson Shlit"a that the verse (Yirmiya 30:7) וְעֵת-צָרָה הִיא לְיַעֲקֹב, וּמִמֶּנָּה יִוָּשֵׁעַ [and it is a time of trouble unto Jacob, but out of it shall he be saved] has the gematria of 771 - and with the Kollel, 772. And also, the [full] verse (Yirmiya 30:7) וְעֵת-צָרָה הִיא לְיַעֲקֹב, וּמִמֶּנָּה יִוָּשֵׁעַ [and it is a time of trouble unto Jacob, but out of it shall he be saved] is the gematria of שנת ה' תשע"ב [the year 5772]. And also הִיא לְיַעֲקֹב, וּמִמֶּנָּה יִוָּשֵׁעַ plus the letters has the gematria of 772.

And it also appears that there is an extremely wonderful hint in the gemara (Berachot 9b) :

[The verse says] אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה ['I AM THAT I AM'] HKB"H said to Moshe, "Go tell Israel that I was with them in this servitude and I will be with them in the servitude of [future] exiles." Moshe said before Him, "It's enough for a trouble in its time." HKB"H said to him, "Tell them that 'I AM hath sent me unto you.'"

We see that Hashem told Moshe to inform Israel of the Redemption of the last exile just like He is redeeming them from Egypt. And Moshe said that he doesn't want to speak about the last exile and Redemption because דיה בצרה בשעתה "it's enough for a trouble in its time." And the word בשעתה is the letters ה'תשע"ב [The year 5772]. And it also hints to a Be'itah redemption - in its hour and its time.

[YY-Note that I don't necessarily ascribe to the political views of the author]And Harav Hagaon Rav Avraham Feldman Shlit"a adds that דיה לצרה hints to the trouble of the Erev Rav, which should conclude in 5772. This is because "לצרה", if you switch around the letters, becomes הרצל [Herzl], the head of the Erev Rav, and דיה לצרה in gematria is שמד [utter destruction]. As is known from the Brisker Rav, who said that the intent of the Zionists was to simply make the Jews transgress their religion, as is known what they did to the immigrants from Oriental countries, etc. And we also find in the gemara (Sanhedrin 97a) Ribbi Yitzhak said: Mashiah Ben David will not come until the entire kingdom will be turned over to apostasy. And also דיה לצרה with the Kollel is the gematria of משה [Moshe], who said these words, to hint that he is sweetening this trouble, as is brought down in the Zohar (Hashmatot 253a) [the verse says] עַד כִּי-יָבֹא שִׁילֹה [as long as men come to Shiloh] who is Moshe [gematria of Shiloh].

And if you say that perhaps the intent of the gemara is that Hashem will be with Israel at the time of the exile and is not speaking about the time of Redemption, the answer is that it is brought down in the book "Sha'arei Orah" (Sha'ar 1,6) that the name א-ה-י-ה is the name of Redemption that He's coming to redeem from exile, as it says (Shemot 3:14) כֹּה תֹאמַר לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֶהְיֶה, שְׁלָחַנִי אֲלֵיכֶם ['Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: I AM hath sent me unto you] to hint to the 50th gate, which is called א-ה-י-ה that He sent Moshe to take the Children of Israel out of Egypt. And Harav Hagaon Rav Yosef Sheinberger Shlit"a adds that the name א-ה-י-ה with מילוי ההין is 151, plus the word כתר [which =620], which hints to the Kingdom - in gematria is 771.

And I also heard that there is a hint in the gemara (Shabbat 113b) that expounds the verse that is said about Rut, from whom the King Mashiah descends (Rut 2:14) "וַתֹּאכַל" [and she ate] refers to this world, "וַתִּשְׂבַּע" [and she was satisfied] refers to the Days of Mashiah, "וַתֹּתַר" [and she left over] refers to the future to come. "וַתֹּאכַל" [and she ate] in gematria is תאנה [fig] [YY - with the Kollel], which hints to the Tree of Knowledge, which is what we eat in this world until it will be rectified in the Days of Mashiah. "וַתִּשְׂבַּע" [and she was satisfied] hints to the year תשע"ב, which will be the days of Mashiah. "וַתֹּתַר" [and she left over] hints to the year תתר [the year 6000], in the beginning of the 7th millennium, when it will be the time of "the future to come". And similarly, ותשבע [and she was satisfied] hints to the abundance of sustanance. And this is similar to the Redemption from Egypt, where immediately when the light of the Redemption started to bud, the Jews received an abundance of sustanance from selling water to the Egyptians.

And also, תשע"ב is hinted to in the verse וּבַשְּׁבִעִת--יֵצֵא לַחָפְשִׁי, חִנָּם [and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing], which hints to the Redemption as is brought down in the Hizkuni there:

"six years he shall serve" - this hints to the 6 kingdoms who subjugated Israel: Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Media, Greece, and Rome/Edom. From then on, "and in the seventh he shall go out free".

And similarly, it appears that there is a hint about the end of the year 5772 in the gemara (Megila 17b) Upon the closing of the seventh year - שְׁבִעִת - [Mashiah] Ben David comes.

And I also heard from my brother Harav Haga'on Rav Moshe Shlit"a that תשע"ב is the Rashei Teivot תהא שנת עת בעתה [it should be a year of the time of Be'itah]. And I also hear from Harav Haga'on Rav Shelomo Breyer Shlit"a that the verse "בִּשְׁנַת הַיּוֹבֵל הַזֹּאת תָּשֻׁבוּ אִישׁ אֶל אֲחֻזָּתוֹ [In this year of jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession] the Gematria of the Sofei Teivot is 772. And similarly, the verse (Bereishit 49:1) הֵאָסְפוּ וְאַגִּידָה לָכֶם, אֵת אֲשֶׁר-יִקְרָא אֶתְכֶם, בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים [Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the end of days] has a gematria of 772.

And I also heard in the name of Harav Haga'on Rav Eliezer Berland Shlit"a that the known saying of R' Nahman of Breslov Zatza"l: "הָאֵשׁ שֶׁלִּי תּוּקַד עַד בִּיאַת הַמָּשִׁיחַ" [my fire is burning until the coming of Mashiah] has Rashei Teivot of ה' תשע"ב both from the beginning to the end and from the end to the beginning. And it is also brought in the book "Si'ah Sarfei Kodesh" (vol. 2, 1:132):

And after the great argument that occurred in Breslov, it is brought down in the book "Yemei Hatela'ot" that Rebbe Nosson of Breslov said:

The Redemption is already proven to be 100 years later than it was supposed to be

And the year 5771 is 200 years from the death of Rebbe Nahman, who died in 5571. So, 5771 completed the 200 years of Rebbe Nahman and Rebbe Nosson. And also, in the end of the 13th story of the [Rebbe Nahman] stories that Rebbe Nahman said close to his death and hinted to the exile of the Shechina and the Redemption - he concludes "אני רופא אותה" ["I am healing it"] which is the gematria of 771 if you include the letters.

And Harav Haga'on Rav Shimon Raz added that there is a hint in the liturgical poem that we say during the Ne'ila prayer of Yom HaKippurim: "El Nora Alila": Oh, awesome G-d, invent forgiveness for us at the time of (בשעת) Ne'ila...Please inform us of the news of Redemption at the time of (בשעת) Ne'ila. And also ה'תשע"א [altogether =776] is the gematria of the words of the versesוַתַּעַשׂ אִמּוֹ מַטְעַמִּים, כַּאֲשֶׁר אָהֵב אָבִיו [and his mother made savoury food, such as his father loved.] and (Esther 5:6) מַה-שְּׁאֵלָתֵךְ וְיִנָּתֵן לָךְ; וּמַה-בַּקָּשָׁתֵךְ עַד-חֲצִי הַמַּלְכוּת, וְתֵעָשׂ['Whatever thy petition, it shall be granted thee; and whatever thy request, even to the half of the kingdom, it shall be performed.'] And also the verse (Yeshaya 65:25)זְאֵב וְטָלֶה יִרְעוּ כְאֶחָד, וְאַרְיֵה כַּבָּקָר יֹאכַל-תֶּבֶן, וְנָחָשׁ, עָפָר לַחְמוֹ; לֹא-יָרֵעוּ וְלֹא-יַשְׁחִיתוּ בְּכָל-הַר קָדְשִׁי [The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain] has the gematria of 771.

It's brought down in the pamphlet called "Hapela'ot" that was written during the time before the Holocaust that it was revealed to him from Heaven that the Keitz of the Redemption is hinted to in the verse (Shemot 15:9) אָמַר אוֹיֵב אֶרְדֹּף אַשִּׂיג, אֲחַלֵּק שָׁלָל; תִּמְלָאֵמו נַפְשִׁי אָרִיק חַרְבִּי, תּוֹרִישֵׁמוֹ יָדִי [The enemy said: 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.'] And he writes that it was revealed to him the 5 Alefs of the Rashei Teivot at the beginning of the verse hint to 5000 [חמשה אלפי] years, but no more was revealed to him. And it's clear according to what we're saying that after the 5 alefs, there is a ת"ש [gematria 700] in Rashei Teivot. And if we add the letters מלא from the word תמלאמו that come at the end of the Rashei Teivot, we get 5771. This means that until 5771, the enemy - i.e. the nations of the world - is able to chase Am Yisrael and reach him. And similarly, the verse that hints to the inner secrets of the Torah and about Ribbi Shimon Bar Yohai (Tehillim 68:19)עָלִיתָ לַמָּרוֹם, שָׁבִיתָ שֶּׁבִי- לָקַחְתָּ מַתָּנוֹת, בָּאָדָם [Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captivity captive; Thou hast received gifts among men] - the Rashei Teivot have the gematria of 772.

It's brought in "Likutei Torah" of the Ariza"l (Miketz):

[The verse states] וַיְהִי, מִקֵּץ שְׁנָתַיִם יָמִים [And it came to pass at the end of two full years] - behold, שְׁנָתַיִם יָמִים [two full years] has the gematria of 730 - in other words, every "year" has 365 days and 2x365=730. Plus, if you add the 6 letters of שס"ה שס"ה, you get the gematria of 736, which equals the simple and Milui gematria of א-ד-נ-י, and that is called the Keitz Hayamin up above.

And Rav Glazerson explains that if it takes 36 years for the revelation of the Keitz Hayamin up above, we need another 36 years to reveal the Keitz Hayamin down below. And again we get 772. And it appears that we can add that the Ar"i speaks about the Keitz Hayamin up above - therefore, he gives the hint of 365+365, because 365 hints to the days of the solar year, which has a male aspect, which symbolizes the upper world. And if we would make the same gematria of the Ar"i on a leap year, which is 383 days, 2x383=766, and adding the Kollel of the 6 letters שפ"ג שפ"ג has the gematria of 772 - because a leap year connects the upper world with the lower world in the Sod of male and female that creates a fetus [עיבור, also the word for leap year], and the fetus produces the Mashiah. And also, the year 5771 is a leap year.

And it is also implied from the "Etz Hayim" by the Ariza"l (Sha'ar 50, end of 83) that in the year 5775, there will be a filtration in this world which is called "The Tree of Knowledge" between good and evil, and the good will separate from the evil, and we will bring his words:

Also, with this, you can understand the matter of the exile which is 1000 days of "weekday". And the idea is that there are 5 "Hesed"s, each one made of 100 parts, which equals 500 like the gematria of כתף ימין [right shoulder] and there are 5 "Gevurot" like the gematria of כתף שמאל [left shoulder] - altogether, 1000. And when they were in the Tree of Knowledge, it was called 1000 days of "weekday", since there is the good and evil, which is grain and straw. And the exile is having these 1000 placed there inside the evil that is there. And since the revelation of Hasadim and Gevurot inside the Ze'eir Anpin is from the chest down, which contains Netzah, Hod, Yesod, which is called the "hooks of the pillars", therefore, these mirror the holiness [from this verse] וְאֶת-הָאֶלֶף וּשְׁבַע הַמֵּאוֹת, וַחֲמִשָּׁה וְשִׁבְעִים, עָשָׂה וָוִים, לָעַמּוּדִים [And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars], and understand this. For there is only hold on the Tree of Knowledge in its revealed part, and this is the Sod of כָּל-הַיּוֹם דָּוָה [faint all the day] - 1000 years.

That is that the verse וְאֶת-הָאֶלֶף וּשְׁבַע הַמֵּאוֹת, וַחֲמִשָּׁה וְשִׁבְעִים, עָשָׂה וָוִים, לָעַמּוּדִים [And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars] hints to the fifth millennium, which is in the Sod of כָּל-הַיּוֹם דָּוָה [faint all the day], plus another 775 years in the sixth millennium where the Kelipa has a hold on and there is a mixture of both good and evil. And in the year 5775, the good will separate from the evil. And this must be at a period after the Mashiah comes and he will fight against evil and separate it from the good.

And similarly, the verse (Bereishit 49:1) הֵאָסְפוּ וְאַגִּידָה לָכֶם, אֵת אֲשֶׁר-יִקְרָא אֶתְכֶם, בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים [Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the end of days] has a gematria of 772. And similarly, I heard in the name of Harav Hagaon Rav Mordechai Elyashar Shlit"a that this verse in gematria is 3526, and if we add to this the time of Yaakov Avinu's death when he said the verse in the year 2255, we get the year 5781, of which there are hints regarding the building of the Beit Hamikdash. Like the verse (Daniel 7:13) וְעַד-עַתִּיק יוֹמַיָּא מְטָה [and he came even to the Ancient of days].

We find in Midrash (Yalkut Bereishit 157):

Yaakov wanted to reveal to his sons the Keitz Hayamin, but the Shechina was removed from him. He said, "Perhaps there is an invalidation in the products of my bed - like my grandfather Avraham, from whom Yishmael came or like my father Yitzhak, from whom Eisav came?" His sons said to him, "Shema Yisrael..." - just like in your heart there is only one, so too, in our heart, there is only one." Immediately, he started and said, "Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto..."

It appears that Yaakov hinted to them about the Redemption also in the words ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד, which hints to the time of the Redemption that Hashem's Kingdom should be revealed forever and ever. And also, מלכותו לעולם ועד has the gematria of 772 if you add the letters.

It's brought down in the "Sefer Halikutim" by the Ariza"l (Parshat Aharei p. 223) that "אדם" stands for אדם דוד משיח that these 3 have the same Mazal and the same root. And therefore, they [the latter 2] rectify the sin of Adam Harishon. According to this, Harav Hagaon Rav Eliyahu Nahmeini explains that King David was born in the year 2854 and ruled in Hevron at age 30 when Sha'ul died in the beginning of the year 2884, and his rule over all of Israel started in the year 2886, as is brought down in the gemara (Sanhedrin 20a and in Tosafot there) that for 2.5 years, David's rule was delayed over all of Israel since Ish Boshet ruled in Yerushalayim. It comes out that this number is from Adam Harishon until David ruled over all of Israel. And if we add another 2886, we get David again, who is the Mashiah in the year 5772. And also, ב'תתפ"ו in gematria [of 886] of דוד with the milui of the letters דלת וו דלת plus the letters. And also, תתפ"ו is hinted to in the verse that speaks about the preparation of the Minha (Vayikra 2:6) פָּתוֹת אֹתָהּ פִּתִּים, וְיָצַקְתָּ עָלֶיהָ שָׁמֶן; מִנְחָה, הִוא [Thou shalt break it in pieces, and pour oil thereon; it is a meal-offering.] And there is a hint here that the number 886 is connected with the preparation of the Minha, which is the preparation of the Kingdom and the preparation of the Redemption, as we mentioned earlier. And after you break it, it's possible to pour the annointing oil and coronate the king, like the continuation of the verse וְיָצַקְתָּ עָלֶיהָ שָׁמֶן; מִנְחָה, הִוא [and pour oil thereon; it is a meal-offering]. And Harav Hagaon Rav Yosef Scheinberger Shlit"a adds that the verse that hints to the preparation to the Kingdom, which is in the Sod of Rahel, is (Bereishit 29:18) וַיֶּאֱהַב יַעֲקֹב, אֶת-רָחֵל; וַיֹּאמֶר, אֶעֱבָדְךָ שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים, בְּרָחֵל בִּתְּךָ, הַקְּטַנָּה [And Jacob loved Rachel; and he said: 'I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.'] has the gematria of 772.

We find the gemara (Sanhedrin 98a):

Ribbi Yosei Ben Kisma's students asked him, "When is Mashiah Ben David coming?" He said, "I'm afraid perhaps you will ask me for a sign." They told him, "We're not asking you for a sign." He said to them, "When this gate will fall, and it will be built, and it will fall, and we will not have a chance to rebuild it before Mashiah Ben David comes." They told him, "Our rabbi, give us a sign." He said to them, "Didn't you say to me that you will not request a sign?" They said to him, "Give us one nonetheless." He said to them, "If so, the waters of the Banyas Cave will turn to blood." And they turned to blood.

And also here, it is hinted to. יפל השער ויבנה [the gate will fall and will be build] has the gematria of 771 if you add the words. And also בֶּן קִסְמָא, אֵמָתַי בֶּן דָּוִד בָּא [Ben Kisma, when is Ben David coming?] has the gematria of 773. And also the hint of the water turning to blood hints to the Gog Umagog War that we will bring later from the Zohar that the Mediterranean Sea will turn red from the abundance of blood that will be spilled.

It's brought down in the book "Ben Yehoyada" by the Ben Ish Hai (Horayot 12) from the words of the Ariza"l who told Moreinu Harav Hayim Vital, "You should understand that the opening of the Gihon River touches the Kingdom of the House of David, and the beginning of the Redemption will be at its opening." And I heard that recently, they widened the Gihon Spring in Yerushalayim, but did not publicize it because they were afraid of the Arabs. And it is also brought down in the Ben Yehoyada (Sanhedrin 94a):

At the time that Moreinu Harav Hayim Vital was in the holy city of Yerushalayim, a certain powerful officer named Abu Sipin came and knew that the Jewish king closed up the waters of the Gihon. He asked [his advisors] if there's anyone alive today who would be able to reopen it. The non-Jews told him that there is one wise and G-dly man named Rav Hayim Vital - he definitely can reopen it. He sent after him on Friday and told him.... Moreinu Harav Hayim Vital had Kefitzat Haderech [supernatural speed] and went to Damascus, and the Ariza"l came to him in a dream and told him, "You have acted foolishly as this officer was a Gilgul of Sanheiriv and you have a spark of Hizkiya who closed up the waters of the Gihon, and it was an auspicious time to rectify and open the waters of the Gihon, and with this would have been the beginning of the Redemption." Moreinu Harav Hayim Vital answered him, "I did not want to use the holy names." The Ariza"l told him, "If you didn't use [the holy names] to come to Damascus, I would have stayed silent..." Moreinu Harav Hayim Vital said to him, "If so, I'll return to Yerushalayim to open it." He said to him, "חליף שעתא The time has passed and it's no longer the time."

And here, there is a hint חליף שעתא [The time has passed] has the letters תשע"א, which means that there was then an awakening of the aspect of 5771, but it was too late.

And it appears that we can explain why the opening of the Gihon is connected to the Redemption - according to what is brought down in the "Sefer Halikutim" by the Ariza"l (Parshat Ha'azinu p.325)

Adam Harishon repented for 130 years, when he sat in the Gihon until his neck, which is one of the 4 rivers of Gan Eden. And the reason he sat in the Gihon and not the others is because he sinned with כֹּל הוֹלֵךְ עַל-גָּחוֹן [Whatsoever goeth upon the belly] (meaning the snake) from the side of impurity, and this is the גיחון [Gihon] with a Yod on the side of holiness.

That is that the nurturing of the גחון [belly] and the snake is from the Gihon. And the Gihon is, if we can say such a thing, the snake up above, who is the root of the גחון [belly], which means that it's the גחון [belly] with a Yod, which symbolized the snake of holiness. And that is the Sod of משיח [Mashiah], which is the gematria of נחש [snake] since he is the root of the snake in holiness, as the aspect of the copper snake, which is a holy snake, as we explained in the essay "Hashmal Heit". That is that the Mashiah has the aspect of the Gihon, and if we widen this Gihon, it symbolizes the beginning of the Redemption. And they also annointed King Solomon via the Gihon as it is written: וְהִרְכַּבְתֶּם אֶת שְׁלֹמֹה בְנִי עַל הַפִּרְדָּה אֲשֶׁר לִי וְהוֹרַדְתֶּם אֹתוֹ אֶל גִּחוֹן וּמָשַׁח אֹתוֹ שָׁם צָדוֹק הַכֹּהֵן וְנָתָן הַנָּבִיא לְמֶלֶךְ עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְגוֹ' [and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon. And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel].

It is written (Tehillim 113:9) מוֹשִׁיבִי, עֲקֶרֶת הַבַּיִת-- אֵם-הַבָּנִים שְׂמֵחָה: הַלְלוּ-יָהּ [Who maketh the barren woman to dwell in her house as a joyful mother of children. Hallelujah.] and Rashi explains that עֲקֶרֶת הַבַּיִת refers to Tziyon [i.e. Yerushalayim], who is like a barren woman, Hashem will inhabit it. We see that the return to Zion turns Zion from a barren woman to the main woman in the house - because at the time of the exile, Zion is the aspect of a barren woman who cannot give birth, but at the time of the Redemption, the barren woman will turn into the main woman of the house, and also עקרת [main woman] with the Kollel has the gematria of 772 [YY - perhaps, he means 771.] And also, עקרת has the same letters as קערת, which hints to the Kingdom which has the aspect of קערה [bowl or plate], which, as is known, is one of the intents of the Seder plate.

Similarly, I heard in the name of Harav Haga'on Rav Yitzhak Shelomo Zilberman Zatza"l from the Jewish Quarter that they have a tradition from the Gr"a about the year 5772 as being the year of the Keitz, as is derived from the verses in the song of Ha'azinu. And similarly, I heard from one of the great Hasidic Rebbes who heard about 40 years ago that he has a tradition from an elderly man who descends from the students of the Gr"a - that that which everyone explains the sixth hour to be the winter of 5709 is not true, but rather the truth is 5772.

And similarly, I heard from Harav Haga'on Rav Yosef Scheinberger Shlit"a, who heard from a student of the Hafetz Hayim - Rav Grosnas Zatza"l - who was a guest once at the home of the Hafetz Hayim Zatza"l for Se'udat Shelishit in the year 5692, and the Rosh Yeshiva of Radin - Rav Landinsky Zatza"l - entered the room, and they spoke about the matter of Redemption. And the Hafetz Hayim said that it will not take more than 80 years until Mashiah comes - and again, we come to 5772. (This story is also brought down in the book "Me'ir Einei Yisrael" vol. 1 p.221, but it doesn't mention the number of years. I asked the sons of the family of Rav Grosnas Zatza"l about the story, and they said that the story is true, but they don't remember if the Hafetz Hayim said 70 years or 80 years.)And similarly, I heard in the name of Harav Hagaon Rav Yosef Hayim Zakkai Shlit"a, from the Kabbalistic Yeshiva "Nahalat Yitzhak" who heard 3 times from Rav Yitzhak Kaduri ZT"L that Mashiah will come in the month of Av, 5772. Words similar to these I heard also from a Jew who heard from Harav Hagaon Rav Yehuda Moalem ZT"L, who who heard it from Rav Kaduri ZT"L. And also, I heard from a Jew who heard from Harav Hagaon Ribbi David Abuhatzeira Shlit"a from Nahariya recently that we are currently in these days in a time of a Be'itah Redemption. And also, it is told over about the Admo"r R' Shlomke of Zhvil that he indicated during his lifetime about his young children, who are now very old, that they will merit to see the Mashiah.

[YY - This is the end of the first essay. If there's interest, I will BE"H continue with the next essay.]

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

The Case for a 5772-Based Geula - Part 2

And similarly, we see from the Zohar (Mishpatim 119b, Aharei 68a) that the 70 years of the birthpangs of Mashiah started in the year 5701 [1940-1941], where it is brought down there כד אעילת רישהא בין ברכהא, which is between Netzah and Hod, which is when the beginning of the screams from the birthpangs of Mashiah begin. This occurred at the beginning of Rosh Hashana, 5701. This is because every century corresponds to a Sefira of the 10 Sefirot, as is known [YY - see also here], and the beginning of Rosh Hashana of the year 5701 was the point between Netzah and Hod that is בין ברכהא [between the knees]. This is because the year 5701 started the century of the Sefira of Hod. And if the birthpangs of Mashiah and the birth of Mashiah last 72 years, it comes out that the coming of Mashiah will occur at the end of the year 5772. (And according to the viewpoint of some Kabbalists that the century started in the year 5700, it comes out that 72 years concludes at the end of the year 5771.) And this is also brought down in the sefer Imrei Bina from the Ra'avad [YY - see also here] that in the year 5700 and the 4 years following would be terrible punishments for Kelal Yisrael.

And it is similarly brought down in the end of the Sefer "ואשר תבאנה יגידו" an essay from Harav HaGa'on Rav Tzvi Kushelevsky Shlit"a about the Keitz of the Zohar of the year 5772. And he explains there at length that after 272 (ערב) years from the morning (בקר) of the sixth day (which begins in the year 5500), we enter the category of Erev - of Erev Shabbat (Sabbath Eve). This is the categorization of the verses and the Zohar and the Ramban to the Redemption as he talks about at length there - that this is the time of Minha Gedola and the time to subdue the Erev Rav and the Arabs. And 72 is hinted to in the Zohar (Pinhas 219b)

At that time, "And so the righteous will see and be joyous and the straightforward will rejoice and the pious will be happy with song. The sixth millennium...until the completion of 272, it will be evening. This is what it is written "עֶרֶב--וִידַעְתֶּם, כִּי יְהוָה הוֹצִיא אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם" [At even (ערב), then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt]. [And it says] כִּי עַבְדְּךָ עָרַב אֶת-הַנַּעַר [For thy servant became surety for the lad ...]

And we also find in the Zohar (Mishpatim 115a with the "Matok Midevash" commentary) that the verses "הקם תקים עמו" [thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again.] and "עזב תעזוב" [thou shalt surely release it with him] hint to the Future Redemption. "תעזוב" contains the letters ע"ב ז"ו and hints to the שם ע"ב, which is in the aspect of ז"ו (the word ז"ו is the gematria of 13, which equals the letter vav וא"ו in milui, which is the root of all 72 names). And הקם תקים contains 2 letter kufs, which hint to 200 years, plus the 72 years gives us 272 years in the sixth millennium, which is the time of Redemption. And the Zohar says explicitly that it's speaking about a Be'itah Redemption, which is hinted in the letters בעתו [in its time] that is found in the word תעזוב. These are the words of the Zohar. And if we connect this Zohar to other places where the calculation begins after 500 years into the sixth millennium, we again get to 5772. And also the other letters of הקם תקים - besides the 2 letters kuf - have the gematria of 500 if you add the number of letters - to hint to the first 500 years of the sixth millennium.

Similarly, it is written "עֶרֶב--וִידַעְתֶּם, כִּי יְהוָה הוֹצִיא אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם" [At even (ערב), then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt]. And similarly, I heard in the name of Harav HaGa'on Rav Yaakov Vitrial Shelit"a that the verse (Zecharia 14:7) וְהָיָה לְעֵת-עֶרֶב, יִהְיֶה-אוֹר ["but it shall come to pass, that at evening time there shall be light"] the gematria is 772. Also, the word אור [light] hints to 5772 as we are in the 207th Birkat HaHama cycle from Creation - [207 being] the gematria of אור. And in this cycle, we should merit that when it will be לעת ערב [evening time] - with the gematria of 772, that it should be אור. And the verse (Yeshaya 30:26) will be fulfilled: וְאוֹר הַחַמָּה יִהְיֶה שִׁבְעָתַיִם, כְּאוֹר שִׁבְעַת הַיָּמִים [and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of the seven days]. And also לעת ערב [evening time] - the Sofei Teivot are ת"ב, which hints to Tish'a Be'av, which is when Mashiah is born. And Harav Hagaon R' Gamliel Rabinowitz Shlit"a adds that ת"ב hints to Teshuva, which is the merit in which we will be redeemed, as the Targum of "Teshuva" is "תתוב".

And also תשע"ב [the year 5772] is hinted to in the verse (Bemidbar 8:2) בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ, אֶת-הַנֵּרֹת, אֶל-מוּל פְּנֵי הַמְּנוֹרָה, יָאִירוּ שִׁבְעַת הַנֵּרוֹת [letters of תשע"ב]. And it's brought down in the book "Bina La'itim" (vol. 1, Derush 1): "The light of the candles is a clear sign for Redemption and Salvation." And also, the lighting of the Menorah in the Beit Hamikdash was in the afternoon during Minha time - not in the morning (see the Bartenura on Tamid 3:9) - because the time of Minha is a time of Redemption and strengthening of the light, and this is an opportune time for lighting the Menorah. And we also find in Midrash that the Redemption will be by way of candles which hint to the light of the Torah (Pesikta Rabbati 8):

Ribbi Berechya the Kohen said in the house of Ribbi: [The verse says:] אֲחַפֵּשׂ אֶת-יְרוּשָׁלִַם בַּנֵּרוֹת [I will search Jerusalem with lamps] means "I will free it." Why? Because I wrote in the Torah כִּי תִקְנֶה עֶבֶד עִבְרִי, שֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים יַעֲבֹד; וּבַשְּׁבִעִת--יֵצֵא לַחָפְשִׁי, חִנָּם [If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve; and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.]. That's the idea of אֲחַפֵּשׂ אֶת-יְרוּשָׁלִַם בַּנֵּרוֹת [I will search Jerusalem with lamps]

This means that the wording ""אֲחַפֵּשׂ אֶת יְרוּשָׁלַיִם בַּנֵרוֹת comes from the wording "יֵצֵא לַחָפְשִׁי" [going free], which hints to the Redemption.

And also, תשע"ב is hinted to in the verse וּבַשְּׁבִעִת--יֵצֵא לַחָפְשִׁי, חִנָּם [and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing], which hints to the Redemption as is brought down in the Hizkuni there:

"six years he shall serve" - this hints to the 6 kingdoms who subjugated Israel: Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Media, Greece, and Rome/Edom. From then on, "and in the seventh he shall go out free".

It's brought down in the commentary of the Gr"a to Tikkunei Zohar (Tikkun 21), "The entire flood and the story of the sending of the dove can all be explained referring to exile and redemption." Also here, it is hinted in the verse (Bereishit 8:10) וַיָּחֶל עוֹד, שִׁבְעַת יָמִים אֲחֵרִים [And he stayed yet other seven days] the letters תשע"ב. [The next verse says] וַתָּבֹא אֵלָיו הַיּוֹנָה לְעֵת עֶרֶב (gematria 772), וְהִנֵּה עֲלֵה-זַיִת טָרָף בְּפִיהָ; וַיֵּדַע נֹחַ, כִּי-קַלּוּ הַמַּיִם מֵעַל הָאָרֶץ [And the dove came in to him at eventide; and lo in her mouth an olive-leaf freshly plucked; so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.]And it is also brought in the Midrash Seder Olam Rabba (Chapter 4) that No'ah sent the raven on the 10th of Tammuz, and he sent the dove the first time on the 17th of Tammuz, and he again sent the dove on the 24th of Tammuz. And on the 24th of Tammuz, the dove returned toward evening with an olive-leaf in its mouth, and the 24th of Tammuz, 5771 is the exact date of Minha Gedola when you divide it into 6.5 hours as before. (The calculation comes out to the 26th of Tammuz, but since the year 5771 is a leap year, the calculation changes to the 24th of Tammuz.)[YY- This blog has always given Rosh Hodesh Av as this date, but other bloggers have noted that it's a bit earlier in Tammuz since we're counting the days of the year - not the months of what a regular year should be.] And Harav Hagaon Rav Yosef Sheinberger Shlit"a adds that תמוז [Tammuz] in gematria is מלך המשיח [The King Mashiah].

And when delving into the matter, we see that the similar terminology used in this verse and the verse that we brought about the Redemption from Egypt both connect the evening to the knowledge about Redemption: עֶרֶב--וִידַעְתֶּם, כִּי יְהוָה הוֹצִיא אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם and לְעֵת עֶרֶב וְגוֹ' וַיֵּדַע נֹחַ because knowing about the Redemption is the first stage of the Redemption because although they were not physically redeemed yet, they were already able to see the Redemption with their eyes, as with the Plague of the Firstborn in Egypt.

And we also find in the Zohar Hadash (Ki Tavo 73b) that Ribbi Shimon Bar Yohai sent a note via the mouth of a dove to Ribbi Yosei to hint to him the time of the Keitz of the Redemption, and when the dove got there, Ribbi Yosei recited the verse about it: "וַתָּבֹא אֵלָיו הַיּוֹנָה לְעֵת עֶרֶב וְהִנֵּה עֲלֵה זַיִת טָרָף בְּפִיהָ וַיֵּדַע נֹחַ כִּי קַלּוּ הַמַּיִם מֵעַל הָאָרֶץ" [And the dove came in to him at eventide; and lo in her mouth an olive-leaf freshly plucked; so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.] And we also find in the Zohar (Shelah 165a):

"An olive leaf" - this refers to the King Mashiah the son of David, and this is what the dove hints to in the days of No'ah וְהִנֵּה עֲלֵה זַיִת טָרָף בְּפִיהָ [and lo in her mouth an olive-leaf freshly plucked].

We find in Midrash (Yalkut Tehillim 440):

A king of flesh and blood, one may not wear his crown, but HKB"H gives His crown to the King Mashiah. And what is the crown of HKB"H? Ketem Paz, as it says, "ראשו כתם פז" and it says, תָּשִׁית לְרֹאשׁוֹ, עֲטֶרֶת פָּז [Thou settest a crown of fine gold on his head].

We see that the crown of Mashiah that he gets from HKB"H Himself via the dove of No'ah is called "עטרת פז" [a crown of fine gold]. And also "עטרת פז" plus the [6] letters has the gematria of 772.

And also, it appears that one may add that the Gr"a that we brought down about the time of Minha Gedola is according to his own opinion on the matter - because he himself would pray [Minha at the time of] Minha Gedola, as the opinion of the Gr"a is known that Minha Gedola is something that one may do initially and not some emergency time-period for prayer (see Bi'ur HaGr"a on Shulhan Aruch Orah Hayim 233:1).And really, it appears that for the idea of the Future Redemption, Minha Gedola is considered the optimal time [for prayer] according to every opinion since the Future Redemption is in the Sod of Pesah Eve (the eve of Redemption) that falls out on Friday (the sixth millennium), and we find in the Mishna (Pesahim 5:1): If Pesah eve falls out on Friday, it is slaughtered at 6.5 hours of the day.

It is similarly brought down in the Maharsha (Berachot 6b s.v. שהרי) that Eliyahu Hanavi defeated the prophets of Ba'al and fire went down from heaven - immediately at the beginning of Minha Gedola. And this hints to the Future Redemption which will be via Eliyahu, whose victory will be at the beginning of the time of Minha Gedola.

And we also find in the Zohar (Naso 129a):

And when the will is revealed, the prayers of Israel are accepted. Ribbi Shimon said to his son Ribbi Elazar, "When is it revealed?" He said to him, "During the Minha prayer on Shabbat." Ribbi Shimon said to him, "What is the reason [it is revealed] during Minha on Shabbat?" He said to him, "Because at this time during the week, judgements are in limbo down below, but on Shabbat, the "forehead", which is called "Ratzon" [Divine Will] is revealed. At this time, the anger quiets down, and Ratzon is found, and the prayer is accepted."

It appears that we can explain that really, Minha time is always a time of Ratzon - both during the week and on Shabbat, as is brought down in the Gemara (Berachot 6b): "One should always be careful with the Minha prayer as Eliyahu was only answered during the Minha prayer." And the reason for this is because the time of the Minha prayer is a time of rulership of Gevurot, which are above Hasadim, as we explained in the essays called "Ma'alat Hagevurot". And at the time of the rulership of Gevurot, there is a shining of Ratzon from a higher place, and it's possible for prayer to work better. However, during the week, the Gevurot are enclothed in the Din of the Kelipot so it will be a time of Din, whereas on Shabbat - or at the time of Redemption, which is like the shining of Shabbat - there is no rulership of the Sitra Ahora. Therefore, when the shining of the Ratzon of the Gevurot comes down, this is also revealed.

And also, Minha symbolized the Kingdom of the House of David, as is brought down in the Zohar Hadash (Hukat 62a) that the kingdom is called by the name "Minha" since it raises the Mayin Nukbin, which have the aspect of "Minha". And also, the sacrifice of a pauper in the Beit Hamikdash is called a "Minha" since the sacrifice of a pauper hints to the kingdom, which is poor and impoverished. And therefore, a Minha sacrifice was made of Matza since Matza is the food of King David - poor man's bread - as is brought down in the Zohar (Vayeitzei 157a). And it also is written regarding a Minha sacrifice (Vayikra 2:1): וְנֶפֶשׁ, כִּי-תַקְרִיב קָרְבַּן מִנְחָה [And when any one bringeth a meal-offering unto the LORD] - the word "ונפש" symbolized the kingdom. And we similarly find in the gemara (Menahot 104b) that there are 5 types of Minha, and it hints to the kingdom which is in the Sod of the letter ה. And Harav Hagaon Rav Eliyahu Nahmeini Shlit"a adds that a Minha is made from flour and oil, and סולת [flour] is the gematria of מלכות [kingdom]. Oil hints to the annointing oil with which one annoints the kings. And this is the wording of the Shela (Pesahim, Matza Ashira 2:25):

Yitzhak Avinu, who is the epitome of Avoda [service to Hashem, and is a] burnt-offering to Hashem, established the Minha Prayer in place of the flour-filled Minha sacrifice - because he said, "There is no burnt-offering without a Minha [meal-offering]." And this is why this prayer is called "Minha". And a pauper brings a Minha sacrifice, and regarding Mashiah's coming, it is written, עָנִי וְרֹכֵב עַל-חֲמוֹר [lowly, and riding upon an ass]. And it was made into Matza ... Eliyahu, who was answered at the Minha prayer, which is the prayer of a pauper, should come and announce the arrival of Mashiah Tzidkeinu, who is עָנִי וְרֹכֵב עַל-חֲמוֹר [lowly, and riding upon an ass]. And the verse will be fulfilled: כִּי-אַתָּה, עַם-עָנִי תוֹשִׁיעַ [For Thou dost save the afflicted people] - a salvation that should come soon, Amen.

And it is also brought down in Likutei Halachot (Minha 3):

Eliyahu was only answered at Minha ... because Eliyahu needed to subdue the strengthening of the Sitra Ahora and idol-worshippers. Therefore, he specifically prayed Minha because the main thing that they grab hold of is from there ... because through him, the aspect of the Kingdom of Mashiah is revealed. And therefore, Eliyahu was appointed to announce the Future Redemption - to reveal the Kingdom of Mashiah. And therefore, it is specifically Eliyahu who was careful with the Minha prayer and was answered because Minha has the aspect of taking the potential and turning it into fruition - which is the aspect of Mashiah, who should come speedily in our days, Amen.

We found in the Midrash (Tanna Devei Eliyahu Rabba 18):

Once, our rabbis and other wise men were sitting in the Beit Midrash and arguing one with another, and were saying, "From where does Eliyahu come?" This one says, "From the descendants of Rahel," and this one says, "From the descendants of Leah". While they were arguing with each other I [Eliyahu Hanavi, who is speaking] came to them and stood before them and said to them, "Rabbotai! I only come from the descendants of Rahel ... And they said to me, "Aren't you a Kohen? Didn't you tell the widow 'but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it forth unto me (as the Mitza of Halla [which goes to the Kohen]), and afterward make for thee and for thy son'?" I told them, "That baby is Mashiah Ben Yosef, and I made a hint to the world that I will יורד תחילה לבבל ואח"כ [first go down to Bavel, and afterwards], Mashiah Ben David will come."

The words "יורד תחילה לבבל ואח"כ" [first go down to Bavel, and afterwards], in gematria is 772.

And also, the year תשע"ב is hinted to in the name of בת שבע, which symbolized the Kingdom of the House of David, as is brought in the Zohar (Vayehi 223b): "Even though the moon shines (the Kingdom of David), it did not shine completely until Shelomo, who was fit to be opposite it, came along, because his mother was Bat Sheva". And also the poet says about the Future Redemption: "Please establish the Kingdom of David and Shelomo with the crown with which his mother (Bat Sheva) crowned him."

We find in the Zohar Hadash (Ki Tavo 73b) that the sages asked Ribbi Shimon Bar Yohai why in the rebuke of Vayikra, which corresponds to the exile from the first Beit Hamikdash, are there consolations afterwards - וְזָכַרְתִּי, אֶת-בְּרִיתִי [then will I remember My covenant...], whereas the rebuke of Devarim, which corresponds to the final exile, are there no consolations afterwards? Ribbi Shimon answered them that the Keitz of the Redemption is hinted to in the worst verse of the rebuke (Devarim 28:66-67) וְהָיוּ חַיֶּיךָ תְּלֻאִים לְךָ מִנֶּגֶד וּפָחַדְתָּ לַיְלָה וְיוֹמָם וְלֹא תַאֲמִין בְּחַיֶּיךָ: בַּבֹּקֶר תֹּאמַר מִי יִתֵּן עֶרֶב [And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear night and day, and shalt have no assurance of thy life. In the morning thou shalt say: 'Would it were even!'] And it can be explained according to our words that there is a hint here to the לַיְלָה וְיוֹמָם [night and day]. "Day" corresponds to the fifth millennium and "Night" corresponds to the 500 years in the sixth millennium, and the Redemption did not come until the ערב [evening - or Minha Gedola, which starts Bein Ha'arbayim], as the verse continues בַּבֹּקֶר תֹּאמַר מִי יִתֵּן עֶרֶב [In the morning thou shalt say: 'Would it were even!'].

We found in the Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni Zecharia Remez 585):

וְהָיָה לְעֵת-עֶרֶב, יִהְיֶה-אוֹר ["but it shall come to pass, that at evening time there shall be light"] - Ribbi Elazar said, "The rule of the 4 kingdoms is only 1 day of HKB"H's days. From where do you learn this? Because it is written וַיֵּרֶד הָעַיִט, עַל-הַפְּגָרִים; וַיַּשֵּׁב אֹתָם, אַבְרָם. וַיְהִי הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ לָבוֹא [And the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. And it came to pass, that, when the sun was going down]." Ribbi Elazar Ben Arach said to him, "It is as you say, as it says נְתָנַנִי שֹׁמֵמָה, כָּל-הַיּוֹם דָּוָה [He hath made me desolate and faint all the day.] except for two "hands" [i.e. two-thirds] of an hour. I'll prove to you that this is so. Come and see that when the sun bends toward the West two "hands", its light weakens and doesn't have its brilliance. This is so much so that until the sun sets, the light of Israel blossoms as it says וְהָיָה לְעֵת-עֶרֶב, יִהְיֶה-אוֹר ["but it shall come to pass, that at evening time there shall be light"].

We also see from this Midrash that the Redemption comes in the Sod of ערב [evening]. And Rav Schvartz Shlit"a from Netanya wrote me [YY - the author] that the Abravanel in [his book] "Yeshu'ot Meshiho" explains that a day of HKB"H is 2000 years - not 1000 years like all the commentators say. And according to this, if we calculate 2000 years from the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash, which was in the year 3828, and we subtract 56 years, which are the 2 "hands" (2/3 of an hour) according to the Midrash, we reach again to Tish'a Be'av of the year 5772. And it appears that we can add that the source of the Midrash is in the Pirkei deRibbi Eliezer (Chapter 27) where the same text is brought, and Ribbi Eliezer goes according to his known viewpoint in Chapter 6 there, where he writes, "One hour of a day of HKB"H is 83⅓ years." We see that Ribbi Eliezer holds that a "day" of HKB"H is 2000 years - that's why one hour is 83⅓ years, and therefore the time period of exile is one day minus 2 "hands" - an hour that reaches the year 5772, as before.

And Harav HaGa'on Rav Itamar Cohen Shlit"a adds that just like the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash was at the time of Minha Gedola - and the Gemara in Ta'anit (29a) mentions the verse אוֹי לָנוּ כִּי-פָנָה הַיּוֹם, כִּי יִנָּטוּ צִלְלֵי-עָרֶב ['Woe unto us! for the day declineth, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out!'] regarding the destruction - so too the Redemption will occur at the same time, and the Zohar mentions that verse about the Redemption as we said earlier. And it appears that I may add that it is for this reason that Mashiah was born at this period as we will see later, to hint to the fact that at this time, the Redemption of Israel will begin. And this is the wording of the Sha'ar HaKavanot of the Ariza"l (Derush of Tish'a Be'av):

The idea of Tish'a Be'av - that which there is a custom on the day of Tish'a Be'av at Minha time to say verses of consolation, and also to get up and to sit on benches above. It should seem to be just the opposite! It appears from the Talmud Bavli that at evening-time, they ignited the Heichal on the day of Tish'a be'av and it burned at Minha time! According to this, it should be proper to be stringent at Minha time more than in the morning!... [He answers the difficulty by saying] that then at the Minha of Tish'a Be'av, the Mashiah, who is called מנחם [one who consoles] was born, as is mentioned in the Midrash Eicha Rabbati.

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About Me

Who is "yaak"?
I'm a half-Sepharadi, half-Ashkenazi, Haredi Zionist. I hope that clears it all up. :-)
I went to a Haredi elementary school, a mixed Haredi/modern high school, Haredi Yeshiva in Israel, and back to a mixed Yeshiva after that. I have a masters degree in computer science and Semicha.
BA"H Mash'ala, I'm married to a wonderful wife with 6 great children.
Hoping to meet each one of my readers in Yerushalayim when we are Olim LeRegel there very soon...